meyle or lemforder fron't bushings
 

hello all, Car needs front bushings after its yearly test for road worthiness, can be done at next service the testing garage said. I have found both Melye and Lemforder for a reasonable price, told a mechanic i was recommended that i have the parts and want to know if he can fit, he asked "what brand?i said lemforder and he said " in 1month they will 'break' and you will be back here, you need to get original BMW"
Doesn't Lemforder make these bushing for bmw anyway? problem is he has sown the seed of doubt in my mind and i can easily get the meyle heavy duty ones....anyway have any ideas would be much appreciated?

PS mechanic needs car in for half a day and will charge about $150 excluding parts cos i will buy em and excluding balancing, feels a bit to high to me after most DIY post mention 2 hours:dunno:

the front tension strut bushings are made by Febi/Bilstein. No balancing is required or necessary after replacement.

I have never seen any aftermarket or BMW bushings break after only 1 month after installing them properly. If however you do install them, and not tighten them with the suspension loaded, they will crack in a month. Typically the X5 will need bushings every 40-60k miles. On the X5, I only recommend replacing with the Febi bushings due to cost/savings.

Retail: $51.65 ea
BMW: My Cost $34.09 ea
FEBI: My Cost $27.57 ea

thanks for the insight, hmmm they may be cracking cos this mechanic is installing them with no load on the front axle, so ain't going to him, just researched a bit more on Meyle site and i am edging towards going for them they aren't fluid filled so should last longer if fitted properly , however what it doesn't mention is how the other components will bear up due to the more rigid meyle bushings......again thanks for the reply.....i will for sure nagthe next mechanic whilst he is doing the install and ask him to tighten with weight bearing down on car

does Powerflex make those bushes? or it is not on their product list?

Yes. Powerflex does make them for the thrust arm/tension strut and lower control arms along with the sway bar bushes.
You can order them right off the Powerflex website.

which one is it? these are off the PF website for X5... or I am missing some part numbers?

PFF5-901 - Front lower radius arm to chassis
PFF5-905-29 - Front anti-roll bar to chassis 29mm
PFR5-908 - Rear subframe to chassis bush
PFR5-4609-22 - Rear anti roll bar mounting bush 22mm
PFR5-4609-23.5 - Rear anti roll bar mouting bush 23.5mm - this one will fit 4.8iS

Ah! I almost forgot.... Pelican Parts also sells PF and they have the lower control arm bushes where oddly enough, the PF website doesn't!

PEL-PFF5-802
Powerflex Front Lower Control Arm Bushing Set For Track Rods (set of two), X5 E53 (2000-06) with Steel Track Rods [More Info]

$79.99
PEL-PFF5-620
Powerflex Front Lower Control Arm Bushing Set For Track Rods (set of two), X5 E53 (2000-06) with Alloy Track Rods [More Info]

$79.99
PEL-PFF5-901
Powerflex Front Upper Control Arm Bushing Set For Thrust Rods/Support Arms (set of two), X5 E53 (2000-06) [More Info]

interesting, according to PF website, these two parts
PFF5-620 shows fit for E34
PFF5-802 shows fit for E34

Could it be that Pelican is not on the same page? or, the part is compatible across the model range?..

I bought the 620's a couple weeks ago and have yet to install. They appear to be of the same size and fit. I'll get them pressed in and installed this weekend and will let y'all know.

keep us posted and although i am sure the answer is in the forums i cant find it, is this the way a 'diy er' can do this to replace these front bushes with standard lemforder bushes correctly?

do I jack one side of the car up ?remove the wheel, then try to get at the 2 bolts that hold the trush arm in place?remove thrust arm

take it to a 'press place' have the old bush pressed out and new in (do you use liquid detergent to lubricate it in it is too tight to fit)?

then put thrust arm back, on bolts back in place then tighten up a bit, put wheel back on lower car then try to tighten further?

and will it need alignment after all this? any replies much appreciated:thumbup: